Discovered Genes (genes.one) - a full-stack PHP/HTML/CSS/JS framework that feels like a rebellion against modern web development complexity. The tagline says it all: 'Last human-made API & UI framework.'
What makes it different:
• Zero dependencies - no Composer, no npm, no node_modules folder
• Three files total: genes.php (~6,400 lines), genes.js (~1,300 lines), genes.css (~1,700 lines)
• All vanilla code - pure PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• No build tools, no compilation, no bundling
• Works with PHP 5.6+ (yes, really)
• Built-in REST API with automatic CRUD endpoints
• UI framework included (CSS + JS)
The framework auto-initializes from a config.json file. Drop it in your data folder, define your database settings, and you get:
• Full REST API on 5 tables without writing API code
• Filtering, pagination, search, sorting built-in
• Multi-tenant ready
• Works with or without a database
• MySQL & SQLite support
UI side includes:
• CSS framework (lighter than most)
• JS framework (~1,300 lines vs. React's thousands)
• HTML partials & templates
• Multi-language support
• Works in any browser
The pitch is simple: 'Better than WordPress, lighter than Node.js, saner than React/Angular.' No magic, no hidden complexity, just readable code that both humans and AI can understand instantly.
Get started in 60 seconds - create an index.php, define a route, open in browser. That's it. Add database config to enable the REST API.
Designed for the 90%+ of websites that don't need the complexity of modern frameworks. If you're tired of 200MB node_modules folders and build pipelines for simple projects, this is refreshing.
MIT licensed, available on GitHub. Made by humans, for humans (and AI).
Check it out at genes.one
